Washington County woman arrested after crashing car while returning from methadone clinic

MACHIAS, Maine — An East Machias woman was arrested Sunday morning after she was involved in a single-car crash while returning home from the methadone clinic in Calais.

According to Maine State Police Trooper Miles Carpenter, Michelle Whitehead, 41, was not injured in the crash on Route 191 near East Ridge Road in Cooper. Carpenter said he came upon the accident at about 8:30 a.m. and found Whitehead’s Honda Accord on its roof in the ditch.

A passing motorist had stopped and called in the accident just as Carpenter arrived on the scene, but the trooper could not locate Whitehead. Carpenter said Sgt. Jeff Ingemi located the woman at her home in East Machias. She told the officer she had been on her way home from the methadone clinic in Calais when she swerved on the road to avoid hitting a deer. A passer-by had stopped and taken her to her home, he said.

After being questioned, Whitehead was taken to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department where a department drug recognition expert put her through a series of tests and determined she had been driving while impaired. Whitehead was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of drugs and failure to report an accident by the quickest means. She was taken to the Washington County Jail where she remained in custody Sunday afternoon.

Whitehead was not injured in the accident, but her vehicle had extensive damage.